The melons have arrived. Tomato season is reaching its peak. Farmers have begun harvesting the season’s first ginger, and proud local makers show up with new creations every week.
We have an incredible lineup of local bands headed to the Music Tent, special events and community celebrations on the calendar, and plenty of fun for the whole family as we reach the height of summer’s harvest.
Our primary Market parking lot has about 150 parking spaces on a Saturday morning, plus six designated accessible spaces.
And there are a whooooole lot more people than parking spaces who want to be part of what we are creating here.
Everyone in this community deserves the opportunity to participate in their farmers’ market.
For thousands of years and across cultures, markets have been more than places of exchange. They have been gathering places - where people access food and goods, share knowledge, build relationships and participate in community life.
Here in Boone, that tradition continues. Access to the market means fresh, locally grown food and handmade goods - and a direct connection with the people who produce them. It means nutrition benefits and a 100% match through Double Up Food Bucks.
But it can also mean experiencing a performance by a local band. Watching honey bees at work or a spinner at a working wheel. Tasting a fruit at its absolute peak. Letting your children play in the Kids’ Corner. Stopping for breakfast. Running into someone you know and staying to talk. Taking the long way through the park just because it’s beautiful.
All of that takes time. And all of it is part of the experience.
We have created a place where people want to stay - and more and more people are inspired to visit.
That means something is working.
We are building community. We are growing together.
We also know parking can be a real challenge. We know it isn’t easy to carry groceries up or down these hills. And we know Daniel Boone Park has physical limitations that no amount of wishing can change.
So how do we make room for more of us to gather when infrastructure is limited, dozens of vendors and performers participate each week, and neighboring organizations and park visitors all share this special place?
We work together.
Our staff, vendors, Youth Makers parents, musicians and volunteers who may be on-site for much of the day are asked to give up the convenience of nearby parking whenever possible so that more spaces remain available to visitors. We encourage carpooling, walking and biking when those are realistic options. We’re grateful to neighboring lots that help accommodate overflow and to our fellow park partners for coordinating use of our shared space thoughtfully.
And we rely every Saturday on the patience, cooperation and kindness of the people driving and walking through the busy roads and parking areas around us.
Access to a shared community space is a shared responsibility.
And now, we have another way to help make room.
Beginning this Saturday, August 15, AppalCART’s Gray Route will provide free Saturday transportation to Daniel Boone Park and the Farmers’ Market.
Visitors can park for free at the ASU State Farm Parking Lot (197 Dale St./State Farm Rd.) and ride the Gray Route to the Market, with service every half hour during Market hours beginning with a 9:38 a.m. pickup.
The Market stop is served at approximately :12 and :42 past the hour, with State Farm pickups a few minutes earlier. Riders should arrive a few minutes before departure and check AppalCART’s full route schedule before traveling.
This new service matters for reasons that go far beyond parking.
For someone who relies on public transportation, a bus ride to the Farmers’ Market can mean connection to fresh local food, expanded nutrition benefits, community resources and one of Boone’s longstanding gathering places.
Continued Saturday service will depend on ridership, so we hope Market shoppers, students and community members will take advantage of this new connection and help demonstrate its value.
This Saturday is a pretty wonderful example of what that access can mean.
Visitors can shop from 60+ local farmers, food producers, artists and craftspeople while enjoying Daniel Sherrill & Friends in the Music Tent. The Hand-Me-Down Hub will return to the Kids’ Corner with children’s clothing, books and gear, while the Hunger and Health Coalition will be featured in the Donation Station. The High Country Agritourism Group will also be on-site sharing information and selling tickets for the inaugural High Country Farm Tour coming up on September 12 - another opportunity to connect directly with the farms and farmers that shape our region.
There will still be busy Saturdays. There will still be moments when our little corner of Boone feels very full.
But perhaps that’s simply an invitation to keep thinking creatively about how we share it.
When a community creates a place people want to participate in, the opportunity is to work together to find new ways to make room for more people to join us - while continuing to create something worth staying for.
—Michelle, Market Director
Will you help us bring the title home? Vote for the Watauga County Farmers’ Market in the America’s Favorite Farmers’ Market Celebration, then share the voting link with your friends, family, and fellow market lovers. Every vote counts!
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